A Fateful Journey
by Aurra21
Summary: What would have happened if Merlin had gone with Morgana to the druid camp? Would things have been different between them? Merlin/Morgana All comments appreciated! 2x03
1. Chapter 1

Merlin hadn't gotten a proper nights sleep since the fire.

He wanted to tell her about her powers. About his powers. How you can learn to control them and how they can be used for good.

But the words of the Great Dragon still echoed loud and clear in his head "It would be better if the witch never knew the full extent of her powers." But that shouldn't mean that she should be alone. No one should be alone when their world is crashing down around them. That is only asking for trouble.

Thankfully she wouldn't have to be alone. Merlin had spent the entire day tracking down the nearest druid camp. They could help her learn how to control her power. The druids could teach her how to not be alone. If he just told her where the camp was and let her act as she saw fit then.

He gave a few quick rapps on the Lady Morgana's door. "come in," he heard her soft voice coo.

Leaning towards the now open door, Morgana smiled warmly at her guest, but her eyes betrayed her. Those pale green eyes held a mixture of fatigue, fear, and relief. Behind her Gewn held an ornate hairbrush and a small lock of the Lady's hair. "Merlin!" Gwen said with a smile that reached her eyes. A smile that made Merlin almost forget about all the strife at hand. "What brings you here at this hour?"

"I... Uh.. Gaius wanted me to give you this." He held out a small bottle with a cherry colored liquid. His eyes quickly darted between the floor and his outstretched hand. _damn._ he thought coldly. he had not been expecting Guenivere to be there. Now how as he going to tell her about the druids.

Morgana stood and walked towards Merlin in one fluid motion. She grasped the bottle gently with both of her hands and did her best to look Merlin in the eye. "Thank you, Merlin," she said softly.

"I w-was wondering if you would l-like to accompany me tomorrow on an an... excursion." Merlin couldn't shake the stammer in his voice but he tried his best to give her a knowing look. As her face turned from sweet to quizical he felt the courage to continue. This may not have been his best plan to date but she at least didn't seem completely repulsed by his question, which was certainly a small win. "I-I Uh.. Gaius is out of Valerian and Henbane, which are important p-parts of your sleeping draft. There are a other herbs that I-he needs but those are probably the most important. I was wondering s-since you use the drafts so frequently that you may want t-to know where they come from."

Morgana's eyes grew wide then relaxed into a quizical smile. She had never known Merlin to be this forward and was certain that there was a good reason for it. And after the events of the previous night she felt compelled to trust him. Merlin had a good heart and she knew he was probably only tryint to help. She stood up straight, taking the bottle from his outstretched hand and bringing it close to her chest. His hand shot down to his side and he jumped about three paces back as she stood before him. "Merlin," she started.

"Right, right sorry that was an inappropriate request. You're a lady and I apologize for being so bold especially on a matter that is probably of no interest to you since ladies don't often like to go on excursions especially for herbs and especially with serving boys since medicine frankly can't be that interesting..." Merlin rambled. _Stupid, stupid stupid!_ why on earth would she go to pick plants wih you that's the lamest excuse to visit Druids I've ever heard. Merlin bowed quickly before he practically sprinted towards the door.

All he heard behind him was a quiet laugh. "Merlin, wait." She spoke with a smile in her voice that almost made him smile. "I would love to go. That sounds absolutely facinating since I've always wondered how my sleeping potions were made. Here, why don't we go ask the King now? Gwen has brushed my hair just about as much as it can be brushed." She turned towards her maidservant who gave a knowing bow and left the room, but not without giving Merlin a playful smile. He was certain that she had gotten the wrong idea but that was irrelevant.

As the door closed behind Gwen, Morgana adopted a much more serious tone. "as facinating as herb collecting sounds, I'm guessing that's not why you have invited me on this trip."

"I found the location of the druid camp," Merlin mumored quitely. "They can probably help you. "

"So you think it is magic."

"Well there is one sure way to find out."


	2. Chapter 2

After Morgana easily convinced Uther to let her accompany him on his trip, she and Merlin parted ways for the evening. As the young manservent made his way to his room, all he could think of was everything that could go wrong. He wasn't familiar with the parts of the woods near the druid camp. What if they got attacked? Or what if they took too long and Uther became suspicious. As much as he wanted Morgana to learn about her powers, he knew how dangerous it was for her, and for anyone who tried to help her learn magic.

Gaius gave him a strange look as he wordlessly climbed the short set of stairs into his room. Merlin collapsed onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. He contemplated if taking Morgana to the druids was the right decision or if it would be better to teach her magic himself. The longer he lay there the more tired he became. He decided that he would at least try the druid route. As much as he wanted to help his friend, he knew how important it was to bring magic back to Albion. he did not want to jeopardize that future for anything.

Merlin paced by the gates. The sun hadn't even come up and he was already half convinced that his plan would fail miserably. It probably wasn't helping that the guards were looking at him as if he had horns growing out of his head. As he did his 117th pass along the length of the gate he heard hurried footsteps coming from the castle. Merlin turned to see Morgana, gliding swiftly towards him. Her hair was tied back into a loose braid and her clothing looked simple but very practical, and he couldn't help but notice the small dagger at her hip. She let out a sigh of relief and smiled as Merlin turned towards her. He tried to smile back calmly but his ears betrayed him, turning the same color as his neckerchief. He tried to smooth his hair over his ears, but knew any effort would be in vain so he stopped before she stopped meer inches away from him. "I'm so glad you came. It seems that I am in your debt again."

Merlin managed to nod and tried his best to swallow his nerves before he smiled. "I'm not certain how much time we will have," he murmured quietly, "so we should best be off." She nodded seriously and they made their way into the forest.

The beginning of the trip seemed uneventful. They talked about the daily occurrences at the castle and took bets on when Arthur would figure out that he had feelings for Guinevere. The further they ventured into the forest, the more apparent the Magic became. Merlin wondered how long it would be before Morgana could feel the druid's magic. Merlin began to pick up his pace and Morgana followed suit, ill-prepared to ask any questions of her unlikely hero.

As they progressed the trees became thicker. Magic seemed to emanate from every branch and every rock. Every flower seemed more colorful and every bird produced a song so beautiful that Merlin was almost inclined to stop. "I don't think it's far from here," he said in a voice that was hardly above a whisper. He looked back to find her response, but instead found a rugged man sneaking up behind the lady Morgana.

Without hesitation, Merlin pushed Morgana behind him and stood as tall as he could in front of the bandit. The man let out a confident laugh that seemed to echo from every tree. Morgana gasped as men seemed to pour out from behind every plant taller than 5 feet. _"Man I really need to learn to focus on more than just magical auras while I travel." _Merlin was practically kicking himself. "Morgana, run. Just follow the path. You will be safe I promise. Now **go****.**" Morgana recoiled slightly at the sight of Merlin taking command. She tried to respond but before she knew what was happening he had pushed her down the path._  
_

Merlin did not change his posture as the bandits circled around him. "Look, I don't have any money. But I really should be going. So, if you don't mind..." Merlin began to turn around as a dagger pierced straight through his shoulder. Everything inside him grew hot as he screamed in pain. He turned around "Ic þé wiþdrífe" he spat, sending every bandit sailing through the air. An arrhythmic set of thuds and crashes echoed from the forest. Merlin winced as he grabbed his shoulder, trying to apply pressure to the wound. He turned around slowly so as to not jostle his shoulder to much.

To his horror, a pair of pale green eyes, wide as dinner plates, pierced through his very soul.


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow I can't believe it's taken me this long to write this chapter. This was hard. ****I didn't really mean for it to be so angsty, but I guess that's just how life happens sometimes. **

**I wanted to thank everyone who posted a comment/review and followed. This is my first time ever writing fanfiction and it means so much that you guys enjoy ****what I'm writing. I'm going to do my best for all 20 of you :) (I know that's not actually a crazy number, but it feels like a crazy number to me ^_^)**

* * *

Everything was a blur. Merlin wanted to run but his body refused to respond. His body grew cold and numb as his world crumbled and it was reflected in Morgana's eyes. He tried to speak but no sound would come out of his mouth no matter how hard he tried. His palms became clammy as he desperately held onto the wound on his shoulder. That pain was completely eclipsed by the overwhelming sensation that his heart was going to burst from his chest at any given moment. Every time he tried to speak he could only feel his throat begin to close and his eyes start to well up with tears. Every breath he struggled to take only made him feel more like an outcast; a monster.

Morgana rose and approached him slowly. He wanted to run, but the best he could do was to stare pointedly at the ground. He couldn't look at her. Even though he hadn't exactly lied to her, he knew it wasn't much better. As the sound of her footsteps grew closer, Merlin began to shake. "Merlin," Morgana said in a soft voice barely over a whisper as she touched his uninjured shoulder. This sent what felt like a jolt of energy through Merlin's entire body and he jumped about 5 feet backwards. He finally managed to look up at her. Her eyes shown with concern as his own began to swell with tears. "Merlin," her tone became much stronger, "please don't worry. I will protect your secret as my own. No harm will come to you I promise. Frankly I should be the one thanking you and apologizing. So, please. Here, let's get to the camp"

Merlin tried to respond but he still couldn't find words. Eyes still fixed firmly on the ground he proceeded past her towards the druid camp. He was thankful that Morgana did not try to bring up his blatant use of powerful magic. He didn't want to look in her eyes and see the betrayal she must have felt towards him for not being honest with her when the petrified ward had shared her deepest fears with the serving boy. Not to mention that he had just gravely injured, if not killed, about a score of bandits who had no chance at standing up to him. They were merely human. His guilt was almost as crippling as the stab wound which, despite the pressure Merlin was exerting on the wound with his hand, was still bleeding profusely. He made it about 20 feet before his vision began to blur. He could barely hear his friend's voice as everything went black around him.

* * *

"_Emrys__"_

A familiar voice echoed in Merlin's mind. Part of him rejected the name. It served as a reminder of how he wasn't normal; how he was a freak. But the voice persisted.

"_Emrys, please._"

"NO!" roared the seemingly unconscious manservant as his bolted upright. He felt everything shake as the small group around him drew away from him, startled by the sudden outburst. But this did nothing but reinforce what Merlin already believed about himself. His eyes drifted over the unfamiliar faces surrounding him until they came to rest on Morgana.

Merlin froze. He swore he could feel his heart break at the look of pure terror on the Lady Morgana's face. He had never seen her so scared, even when she feared for the safety of her own mind. The longer he looked into her eyes, the more that terror shifted to pity. Merlin didn't know which was worse. He felt pathetic, but he could not fight the instincts of a lifetime of secrecy. His shame began to overtake his fear as he broke eye contact with the King's ward, shifting to sitting with his elbows resting on his knees and his hands holding his face, as if trying to hold his emotions from spilling out for the world to see. After sitting there for a few long breaths, Merlin pushed himself to his feet while trying not to put pressure on his injured shoulder. "Excuse me," he managed to mumble before trying to stumble out of the tent.

Before he could escape he felt Morgana's firm grip wrap around his wrist and pull him back. Merlin fell back to the ground with a graceless thud and looked at her, eyes wide with a mixture of fear and confusion. "Okay, we did not come all this way for you to spend the entire trip feeling sorry for yourself," she barked, making his fear give way completely to his confusion. "Merlin, You are one of the most kind and gentle people I know. Your courage knows no bounds and you are selfless to a fault. I understand what it's like now, to be alone. To feel like no one can even begin to understand you, but to know that if you tried to learn more you would be killed without question. It's been crippling to live like this for just a short while. I cannot begin to understand the pain you have suffered. And yet, you continue to serve and protect the ones you care about. Merlin, I can only hope to be half as strong as you when we return to Camelot."

He stared into her eyes. Merlin's breathing hitched as his mouth formed a lopsided smile. "You...You're not scared of me?" Merlin asked, his voice tender and soft. Morgana simply rolled her eyes and pulled him into a fierce embrace as they both let their emotions overwhelm them.


End file.
